National Identity and Internet: A Cohort Study in Hong Kong Heng Lu 1*, Tai-Quan Peng 2, Jonathan J. H. Zhu 1 1. City University of Hong Kong; 2. Macau University of Science and Technology * Ph.D. Candidate, Web Mining Lab, Department of COM

Conceptualization of National Identity National identity is dynamically constructed Collective (vs. individual) Affective (vs. informative) Changing Context: Globalization; Subnational, national, supranational forms of citizenship (e.g., EU, China, Canada)

Operationalization of National Identity Local vs. National Local National Single Hybrid Hong KongerChinese Chinese first, then Hong Konger Hong Konger first, then Chinese

Operationalization of National Identity: Single vs. Hybridized Local National Single Hybrid Hong KongerChinese Chinese first, then Hong Konger Hong Konger first, then Chinese

Claims and Propositions National identity is cohort-dependent Internet effect is cohort-dependent Impressionable-year (socialization) Aging-stability

Why Hong Kong? National identity in Hong Kong has no obvious nationalistic component. Internet penetration rate increasing steadily from 40% in 2000 to 69% in 2008.

Aims of the Current Study To describe the cohort trend of national identity in Hong Kong To empirically examine the effects of Internet adoption and Internet use on national identity respectively To uncover the conditional effect of the generational cohort on the relationship between Internet adoption/use and national identity

Hypotheses: Main Effects H1. The younger cohort an individual belongs to, the more likely he/she will have a hybridized national identity. H2. Internet users are more likely to have a hybridized national identity than Internet non-users. H3a. The more time an individual spends on the Internet, the more likely he/she will have a hybridized national identity. H3b. The more diverse websites an Internet user visits, the more likely he/she will have a hybridized national identity.

Hypotheses: Moderate Effect H4. The effect of Internet adoption on Hong Kong identity is moderated by cohorts.

Method Source: HKIP data from 2000 to 2008 (except for 2007). Survey: Annual telephone surveys Respondents: HK regular residences between 18 to 77 years old who speak Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese, and other dialectics) Analysis: Logistic Regression

Age Trends with Hybridized NI (within periods)

Period Trends with Hybridized NI (within cohorts)

Cohort Trends with Hybridized NI (within age)

Hybridized NI Holders by IA by Cohorts

Implications Cohort differences in political attitude Revival of limited effects: Internet adoption (!) Internet use (?) Internet effects are cohort-dependent Theorizing national identity

Appendix 1: Summary statistics for variables used in regression models

Appendix 2: Logistic Regression Models (1)

Appendix 3: Logistic Regression Models (2)

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